"Yo, good morning everyone~"
It wasn't until the sun was almost directly overhead that Kakashi's lazy figure finally appeared at the edge of the training ground.
"You're too slow—!!!"
Sakura's morning-long suppressed anger instantly erupted, and she yelled at the top of her lungs, her voice filled with dissatisfaction and resentment. Even the usually calm Satsuki couldn't help but glare at Kakashi, pouting.
Naruto, meanwhile, sighed helplessly, looking at his Jonin sensei who was at least five hours late.
"Ah, my apologies~" Kakashi scratched his silver hair insincerely, making up an excuse, "It's because I encountered a black cat crossing my path, so…"
Only Naruto knew that this guy was definitely lying. He probably went to the Memorial Stone first, stayed there for a long time, and stared blankly at the stone engraved with "Uchiha Obito's" name.
Kakashi tactically cleared his throat, forcefully bringing the conversation back on track, "Well then, enough small talk, this is your task for today." He pulled out two bells from somewhere, shook them, and they made a clear sound.
"The rules are simple: before noon, try to snatch these two bells from me. Those who successfully get a bell will get lunch. And those who don't get a bell…" He deliberately drew out his words, his gaze sweeping over the three, then pointed to the three conspicuous wooden stakes at the edge of the training ground,
"…not only will you not get food, but you'll also be tied to those stakes, watching me eat my bento."
What the hell?! This guy is totally tricking us! No wonder he didn't let us eat breakfast yesterday!
Sakura ranted wildly in her mind about Kakashi's dark personality, but at the same time, she felt a surge of relief. Thank goodness… thank goodness for Naruto.
Early this morning, after they had gathered and were waiting impatiently for Kakashi, Naruto surprisingly pulled out three servings of breakfast he had prepared from his backpack—sandwiches wrapped in wax paper that looked incredibly tempting!
Given Sakura's personality, she might really have been scared by Kakashi's threat of "you'll throw up" and wouldn't have dared to eat anything, in which case she would probably be starving by now.
But the key was—Naruto's food was simply too delicious!
The lunch Sakura had at Naruto's house yesterday completely redefined her understanding of "delicious." The ginger-fried pork had a rich sauce and tender, juicy meat; the hamburger patty was cooked to perfection, with a rich texture, and even the simplest katsuobushi rice ball was exceptionally sweet. That extreme deliciousness was a shocking taste experience Sakura had never encountered in any restaurant in Konoha!
Could it be that he's truly a genius?
As Sakura savored the deliciousness of the breakfast sandwich, she secretly marveled, realizing that Naruto's cooking talent, like his ninja talent, was on a monstrous level!
By the way, at noon yesterday, Naruto also heard this voice in his mind.
Ding!
Congratulations, Host: You have established an initial bond with the original character "Sakura Haruno"!
Points gained: 300 points!
…Wow, as expected of Sakura, the points are so high.
"Wait a minute?" The meticulous, or rather, the extremely insecure Sakura immediately noticed the biggest anomaly in the rules.
"Why… why are there only two bells?!"
"Heh heh…"
Kakashi let out a low, ambiguous chuckle, "Good question. Because there are only two bells, which means—at most, only two people can pass. And the one who doesn't pass… will have to go back to the Ninja Academy for further study."
This lighthearted remark, however, was like a bolt from the blue for Sakura, instantly making her feel as if she had fallen into an ice cave, her entire heart turning cold!
Wait! That's not right! This, this clearly means one person will be eliminated! Panic instantly seized her. Among the three of us, I'm the weakest… there's no doubt about it! If one person is to be eliminated, it will definitely be me, no matter how I think about it! Is my ninja career going to end before it even begins?!
Just as Sakura was lost in desperate thoughts, Kakashi's tone changed, and his sharp gaze turned to Naruto.
"By the way, Naruto. Hokage-sama told me that you seem to… already be able to use that 'power' within your body, is that right?"
Naruto was startled by the question, then a slightly provocative smile appeared on his face as he replied, "Hm? Yes, what about it, Kakashi-sensei? Are you scared? Well, of course, after all, I and the Nine…"
"That's the problem!" Kakashi abruptly interrupted Naruto's speech, his tone suddenly becoming extremely serious.
"Naruto, you should know better than anyone how dangerous and powerful the force sealed within your body is. If it's not controlled properly and goes berserk… let alone this exercise, the entire Konoha might be destroyed!"
Power? What power? Destroy Konoha? Naruto?
Faced with Kakashi's earth-shattering statement, Sakura, who was beside them, was completely bewildered, her brain unable to process this enormous amount of information, she could only stare at the two with wide eyes.
"You are still too young; both your mind and body are not yet mature. Whether you can truly bear and control that power without being consumed by it is still a huge unknown, and it could even cause irreversible damage to your body."
Kakashi's voice was low and solemn, "Therefore, as your guiding Jonin, I hereby explicitly state: In this exercise, you are absolutely forbidden to use the Nine-Tails' Chakra! If you use that power, I will directly declare you a failure! Understood?"
"Yes~ I know~"
Naruto drew out his words, responding with a feigned, slightly reluctant expression.
Indeed, Naruto had privately told the Third Hokage that he had a good relationship with the Nine-Tails within him, and he used this as a "reasonable explanation" for his ability to "burst out" with great power to repel Uchiha Itachi on the night of the Uchiha clan massacre.
Naruto still remembered the Third Hokage's excited expression, his beard trembling slightly, when he learned that Naruto could actually communicate with the Nine-Tails, and even had a "good" relationship with it.
Becoming friends with a Tailed Beast inside one's body? Such a thing was not unprecedented in the Ninja World—Killer Bee, the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki from Hidden Cloud Village, became close friends with Gyuki, the Eight-Tails, through daily interaction and adjustment, thereby becoming a rare perfect Jinchuriki in the Ninja World, able to fully control the Tailed Beast's power without worrying about going berserk.
Clearly, both the Third Hokage and Kakashi hoped Naruto would follow this path, but they were also well aware of the difficulties and risks involved. Therefore, Kakashi's current prohibition was both a restriction and a protection, preventing Naruto from relying too early on this power and neglecting to hone his own fundamentals, or from causing catastrophic consequences if he lost control.